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How Old Your Pet Is In Human Years

The general rule of thumb for calculating a pet’s age in “human years” has always been to simply multiply by 7. Unfortunately, this approach doesn’t quite paint the full picture of how pets age.

Actually, a dog’s aging process is accelerated during the first few years of life and then slows down after that. After one year, a dog is actually considered to be 15 in human years. Additionally, the specific breed of dog plays a factor in lifespan. Smaller dogs tend to live longer than medium-size dogs, who in turn live longer than large dogs.

“Although smaller dogs tend to live longer than larger dogs, they may mature more quickly in the first few years of life,” says the Lawrence Vet Hospital in Lawrence, Kan. “A large dog may mature more slowly at first but already be considered elderly at age 5. Small and toy breeds don’t become ‘seniors’ until around age 10. Medium-size breeds are somewhere in the middle in terms of maturation and lifespan.”